Happy Monday, fellow people! Today I'm here to ramble about some going-on's in the realm of movies! Sorry it's not a review or anything special! But hey, I'm sure many of you are aware of what was happening on TV last night. That's right, I'm of course talking about the 86th Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars! I'll get to some of those nominations in a sec, but what about the actual show? Sadly I missed quite a bit of the beginning live, but from what I did watch, the awards were pretty snazzy! Having Ellen DeGeneres as the host again was great, and I have to mention that FANTASTIC acceptance speech by Best Supporting Actress Winner Lupita Nyong'o! I'm not one of those people who likes to predict the awards or whatnot, but I don't recall there being any surprise upsets...save for, you know. Yes, I am addressing the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio still does not have an Oscar. Oh yeah, haha, something I found out about after the fact was when John Travolta tried to introduce singer Idina Menzel for "Let It Go," but ended up saying her name as something like "Adele Dazeem." So of course, this happens. But anyways, something I noticed when watching the awards for Best Picture was a distinct lack of movies I've actually seen. This is of course, nobody's fault but mine! Of the nine movies nominated for Best Picture, I have as of yet only seen one. I aim to change that!
The Best Picture Winner, for those who do not yet know, was 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwtel Ejiofor, with a supporting cast that includes the previously mentioned Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender, and Benedict Cumberbatch. It's based on the memoir by one Solomon Northup, and tells of his years as a slave on plantations after being sold into slavery. This movie's definitely been on my "too watch" list for some time now! The premise, as well as the many actors involved, have had me continually intrigued, and with all the buzz, accolades, and reception it's getting, I'd like to watch 12 Years a Slave sooner, rather than later.
Of course, the same might as well be said for some of the others. Her and The Wolf of Wall Street in particular I've been eager to see since they started showing in theatres, and if I do see either one of them, The Emporium shall know! Captain Phillips is one that I've been kind of wanting to see more and more after it was released, so that one may be pretty close. Tom Hanks, man! American Hustle and Dallas Buyers Club I never did have much interest in seeing, but with Matthew McConaughey's win for Best Actor, I may have to give at least Dallas Buyers Club a look! I never actually heard of either Nebraska and Philomena until the Awards, but Dame Judi Dench in Philomena? Hell yeah. Which leaves me with the one movie I did in fact see, which is Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity.
So yeah, Gravity. What a movie! I was debating putting it into a review, but I mean, come on. Everyone's already seen it, and everyone already knows how good it is! I'd probably sound like a broken record basically reiterating all the good stuff in it, so instead of a full on review, I'm giving you a little rapid-fire of my thoughts on it, and why I liked it!
Donlevy's "Ultra-Mini-Not-A-Review-Awesome" GO!
Gravity kicks ass! It has some of the most stunning effects I've seen in a while, and the actual crux of the movie is executed so well on such a simple, yet gigantic, scale. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are excellent, even though they're separated by gigantic space suits, and, well, gigantic space. It's a movie that gets into gear very quickly, but not abruptly, and the pace continues in a disorienting and dizzying way, but not so long that it becomes repetitive and/or boring. The movie has it's fair share of tense moments and surprises, and they're made all the more pressing since the movie progresses in (mostly) real time. There's always a countdown or timer at play, and it's subtle things like that in the background that add a great sense of pressure and nuance. The movie doesn't stray far from the perspective or action from the view of Bullock's character Ryan, and this works to the films credit in that you experience the disorientation and problems of the character first-hand, and this also serves the purpose of giving little hints at her backstory and life back on Earth, without explicitly taking you out of the action and showing you. This makes the general pace of the film really well done, and pretty much helps in making every past and future event in the movie all the more exciting. It also doesn't hurt that the effects in space are really well done, and Gravity is one of those movies where I would buy it just to see what kind of special features and behind the scenes there are for the effects. Add to that a great musical score, and you can see why Gravity is such a crowd and critic favourite. It is definitely a must see.
So what's ahead in theatres? Well, I got two words for ya. Liam. Neeson. That new movie Non-Stop? Damn straight I want to see it! Like, it's Liam Neeson. He will find you with his specific set of skills if you don't go see his movie. From what I've seen and heard from trailers and synopsis', the action looks to have a claustrophobic and hectic/fast-paced feel, and that has me very excited! The kind of cat-and-mouse game that could be going on in the plane is a cool concept, and having a classic-ish "whodunit" mystery to it has the makings of something awesome! I could be completely wrong, of course, but I suppose that's what I intend to find out!
And that's all I have to say about that. I wish your Monday well, and have a fantastic week! I will see you all on Friday!
:Donlevy out
(Hehe, you see what I did with the D there? Oh nevermind.)
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